So Long quarterlife

quarterlife couldn't make the transition to TV. The show premiered on Tuesday to only 3.1 Million viewers. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was the NBC's "worst time period performance in at least 17 years," and it was summarily canceled on Thursday. Tough love for a show that was supposed to be the gifted lovechild of TV and the Internet.

So why didn't it work? No one likes to watch people similar to themselves, especially when those people are insecure, awkward, and downright annoying. If they do watch, the time period needs to be at least 10-20 years removed so the audience can look back at just how endearing their neuroses were. (See: The Wonder Years, Happy Days, That 70's Show, Freaks And Geeks)

The show's creative team must not understand the meat of my generation. We're bigger than your 44 minutes in primetime will allow. My generation is in an uncertain world. We're mobile, we're excited (mostly hopped up on energy drinks and breakfast cereals), we're curious, we're tech savvy and we're just like everyone else...except we can navigate the internet and still remember how VCRs work. Presenting us in a better light may not garner viewers, but your plan didn't work out so well either.

Text us if you need some help on your next project.

Breaking News: Scrubs May Move To ABC

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC is currently in talks with ABC Studios, (Scrubs' the production company) to order 18 more episodes of the quirky medical sitcom; great news for the fans since the show was set to end its run this spring.

NBC isn't letting the show go that easy and is currently in negotiations of their own.

With Samantha Who, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisies, and potentially Scrubs, ABC is rebranding itself as an alternative to dry comedy on NBC, goofball comedy on Fox and unfunny comedy on CBS. (Too soon?)

This is something to get excited about. I'll update when there's more information available.

Are We Just Bearing Witness To Miley Cyrus' Genius?

Miley Cyrus ate few ounces of ketchup on Leno last night. The video described it as chugging, but it's closer to a long squirt than the maple syrup shenanigans from Super Troopers.

I wonder how the PR Machine at Disney will spin this. Does this show that Miley is a daredevil...of the tame variety? Does it show she's just a kid who likes to have fun? Or maybe she just enjoys ketchup.

I don't know what you're up to Miley Cyrus, but you're a teen queen of the best kind. You sing to sold out crowds, you have your own television show, you present at The Oscars and you drink condiments on late night talk shows. How do you do it? How do you do it?

M*A*S*H Revisited

It's the 25th Anniversary of the last episode of M*A*S*H. The finale still holds the number one spot for the most watched program ever on American television. If you've never seen it, the Hallmark Channel is re-running it in early March.

I've only seen a handful of episodes, but the few I caught were sharp, clever and good humored, especially in the face of the subject matter.

Imagine a show in 2008 that took a look at the Vietnam War. With 1000 channels, the internet, apathy and general divisiveness, it wouldn't make it. It would get pushed onto CBS or A&E, left to rot on Friday or even worse Saturday nights. Without a gimmick or a special guest star, it probably wouldn't get picked up for the rest of its inaugural season. Too edgy. Not sexy enough. Too soon.

And it would be just fine, but there's nothing else like it anymore...yet. I'm holding out hope that people can fall in love with scripted television again. We're waiting on you Aaron Sorkin.

What I'm Watching Tonight - 2/28-3/1

I'm going to be gone over the weekend, but here's what I'm making time for:

Watching:
Lost ABC 9/8C - Thursday
Celebrity Apprentice NBC 9/8C - Thursday
SNL With Host Ellen Page NBC 11:30/10:30C - Saturday

Recording:
American Idol Fox 8/7C - Thursday
Breaking Bad AMC 10/9C - Sunday
Your Mama Don't Dance (Series Premiere) Lifetime 9/8C - Saturday
Oprah's Big Give (Series Premiere) ABC 9/8C - Sunday

Is Rosie At It Again?

I used to love Rosie O'Donnell's late '90s talk show and it was refreshing to watch some excitement during her stint on The View, but this is a horse of a different color.

Though it's incredibly early yet, there are rumors that O'Donnell and Fran Drescher are teaming up for a family sitcom.

Both ladies are funny in their own right, but they possess very different strengths. Drescher is a great physical comedian and compelling longform joke or storyteller. O'Donnell is in your face, on the spot, fast. That type of comedy is tough to translate to a scripted television show, especially when she has to compete with another actress. Ideally O'Donnell would produce or develop the pilot and let Drescher take the lead.

To make this show work, they're going to need strong writing, a non-traditional sitcom format and an amazing concept. Drescher and O'Donnell have strong industry ties, but if those things were easy to come by, wouldn't they both still be on TV in the first place?

What I'm Watching Tonight - 2/27

Watching Tonight:
America's Next Top Model CW 8/7C
Project Runway Bravo 10/9C
Reno 911 Comedy Central 10:30/9:30C

Recording For Later:
American Idol Fox 8/7C
Head Case Starz 10/9C
Hollywood Residential Starz 10:30/9:30 C

The Day I Pissed Off The David Archuleta Fans

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about Hollywood Week on Idol. Nothing too crazy, pretty much in the same vein as all of my posts; sarcastic, critical, but all-in-all just writing down a few notes. Not exactly an essay. Like most posts, no one commented and I moved on. But this week a reader posted the following:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hating on David! It'll make it so much easier to laugh at you when he succeeds!! Oh, and by the way, he has a paralyzed vocal chord, unlike you, who sits at home and judges black people and prodigies. Guess ur another 1 2 add 2 my "Hataz" list!!!!

There are a lot of things interesting with this comment but we will try to keep it to a minimum.

• I'm aware of the throat condition. I put "sounds" in bold and italics to make you aware that a singer doesn't have to sound like he has one. (Satchmo, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan excluded)
  
• If David Archuleta is a prodigy, then there are a lot of prodigies running around high school show choirs across the nation. Don't use the word lightly. If you enjoy his music, great. But a prodigy? Really? Even you may argue that word was a little strong.
  
• It's hard to take offense to someone who writes with numbers and uses unnecessary Zs. I felt your intensity though.
  
• And oh yeah, I'm Black.
  

So I had a good laugh, went to bed and moved on. But this week, edubTV became enemy number one for David Archuleta fans. Thanks to some sort of message board or blog search, I've received 8 more anonymous comments from fans telling me I'm a freak, a lazy bum, I can't hear, etc. The Archies are obviously a very passionate group of people. A little nuts but what good group of fans aren't? You cant say they don't care.

The only thing? I actually don't. If David Archuleta walks away with an American Idol victory, there's no bad blood with me. I'm not even watching the show in real time or voting. What power do I possess to shift this competition? Absolutely zero.

So why this post? I am fascinated by the outpouring of unflinching support for American Idol contestants. Fans of all ages are following these people to the ends of the earth. While I fully support having a strong cause to fight for, does anyone else think it's alarming that some have chosen teenage/twenty-something singers?

What I'm Watching Tonight - 2/26

Watching:
Out tonight, so I'll probably miss everything. Thank heavens for online television and DVR. Maybe I'll watch the end of A Raisin In The Sun. Apparently I wasn't the only one tuning in.

Recording For Later:
quarterlife (Series Premiere) NBC 10/9C
Rob & Big MTV 10:30/9:30C
American Idol Fox 8/7C

Taking A Look At Quarterlife

quarterlife was an "internet sensation," much like Flea Market Montgomery and that chuby kid with the lightsabre. But there was something different about these webisodes. It had the production quality of a television show and the creative genius (Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick) to give it credibility. Now the little web show that could is premiering tonight on NBC.

What's it all about? quarterlife follows a group of twenty-somethings as they traverse the confusing, hopeful, hilarious and sometimes frightening years between 20 and 30. The main character, Dylan (of the girl variety, very 21st century) is a video blogger and her posts guide the story. Herskovitz and Zwick were the people behind My So Called Life and thirtysomething so despite the kind of so-so premise, the show probably won't be half bad.

You can get in on quarterlife now. Check out the six webisodes already made online and hang out in the quarterlife webspace. There are message boards, social networking and everything else TV executives think our generation enjoys. The show premieres tonight at 10/9c but will run on Sundays after that.

This could be very interesting. What web junk is going to make the leap to TV next? I'm holding out hope for this kid.

Follow-Up: Extended Sex & The City Trailer

Ahhhh! The full trailer is on the web and the movie is starting to make some sense. As you previously read, I am pretty pumped and I was hardly a fan of the show. After seeing the trailer, I may even see it opening weekend. This hilarious post from Scanner means that I probably won't be alone.

I think I'm so interested because the show is still so recent. There is usually such a big lag between TV shows and their film counterparts. It's been less than 5 years since SATC went off the air and these ladies are still in our hearts and living rooms. TV also has an element of realism for me and when shows end I imagine the characters get to keep on going with their wacky adventures, we're just not privy to it. This movie gives us that chance to check in on them.

What I'm Watching Tonight - 2/25

Watching:
I'm going to try and get through A Raisin In The Sun ABC 8/7C

Sean Combs is putting his acting hat on the line and I want to see if he's any good. Plus Phylicia Rashad is in it and she's too bad ass. I hope she breaks out in an intense speech about why it's never right to lie, (complete with finger pointing and sassy head movements.)

Jon & Kate Plus 8 TLC 9/8C

Recording:
Nothing tonight. With Prison Break over with, I'm kind of slowing down until April.